Production and Market of Paraformaldehyde in China

China
is the largest paraformaldehyde producer and consumer in the world. Though the
domestic capacity has kept exceeding the demand in the past few years, some
companies still expand their capacities or build new production lines.

The
industry is greatly influenced by the development of its downstream industries,
especially the glyphosate industry. Resin is the second largest end
use segment of paraformaldehyde in China. Along with the increasing concern on
environmental protection, paraformaldehyde gradually substitutes formaldehyde
to produce resins.

China’s
paraformaldehyde industry is in a fast development currently. According to
market intelligence firm CCM, the export volume of the chemical has witnessed
an incredible growth in the last decade. However, the country is still relying
on imports as they remain higher than the export volume.

The
paraformaldehyde industry in China is facing some problems, due to the
outgrowth of the domestic demand by its rapid supply. Hence, oversupply has
occurred in the market, adding pressure on the price. Manufacturers are
suffering shrinking bargaining power and profits.

According
to CCM, a growing number of paraformaldehyde manufacturers in China has
increased the output significantly, rising by a CAGR of 4.29% in the period
from 2015 to 2017. The peak was reached in 2017 with an output more
than 260,000 tonnes.

The
outlook for the paraformaldehyde industry in China remains optimistic since the
demand is expected to continue growing sharply in the next years, while the
output will be strictly regulated amid the environmental protection
measurements in China.

China’s
paraformaldehyde is mainly consumed in the agrochemicals industry, besides also
showing high use in the resin and pharmaceutical industries. However,
agrochemicals remain the main downstream market. The consumption volume in
agrochemicals, mainly glyphosate, acetochlor, and butachlor, reached 219,000
tonnes in 2017, an uptrend by 3.16%. The growing resin demand was even a bit
higher, due to the high demand overseas, which resulted in the consumption of
paraformaldehyde in resin by almost 6% increase.

Depolymerized
paraformaldehyde is normally used as a fumigant, disinfectant, fungicide, or
fixative. Other possibilities of usage are as a thermoplastic. Paraformaldehyde
itself is not a fixative. It must be depolymerized to formaldehyde in solution.

Paraformaldehyde
is also used to crosslink proteins to DNA, which is a technique to determine
which part of DNA certain proteins are binding to.

Paraformaldehyde
can be used as a substitute of aqueous formaldehyde to produce the resinous
binding material, which is commonly used together with melamine, phenol or
other reactive agents in the manufacturing of particle board, medium density
fiberboard and plywood.

The
report provides a detailed analysis of the elements affecting the growth of the
industry in China, as well as the current and historical development
of the industry. Furthermore, market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and
relative policies can be found in the report.

CCM
analysis the key market players in the market along with recent developments.
Currently, there are 38 active producers in 2017.